


it's never easy

by dear_universe



Series: glimadora week 2 [2]
Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Battlefield, Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Kissing, Lack of Communication, Self-Acceptance, Self-Doubt, Self-Hatred, Tumblr: Glimadora Week, Useless Lesbians, i'll make sure they end up happy or die trying
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-20
Updated: 2019-05-20
Packaged: 2020-03-08 10:51:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18893137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dear_universe/pseuds/dear_universe
Summary: glimmer's gotten battle scars before, but never one so visible.or: glimmer and adora really don't know how to communicate.written for day 2 of glimadora week 2: scars/injuries





	it's never easy

She’d been tired. Even so close to the Moonstone, she’d run out of energy. She was bleeding from several cuts on her arms, and she could feel herself fading.

A glint of silver in the corner of her eye. She raised her staff and tried to duck, but it was too little, too late, and-

Feeling the bite of the knife cutting through her skin, Glimmer’s first thought wasn’t of herself, but of Adora.

“One princess down,” the Horde soldier muttered.

She felt warm, sticky blood on her face, and stumbled, falling to her knees. Her staff, her father’s staff, fell on the stone of the palace floor and cracked in two, and even in her dazed state, Glimmer felt a sense of loss ripple through her as she reached for it, the jagged edges biting into her hands.

She pressed her hands to her head, and when she pulled them away, they were crimson red. Her own breathing felt louder in her ears, and her vision was centered only on her hands, on the pain she couldn’t yet feel but could see, dripping onto the stone floors of the palace, her palace.

Her home.

Bright Moon would burn. She could feel it as surely as she could feel her own beating heart. She wouldn’t see her home again.

Glimmer rose to her feet, hands held blindly in front of her. The faceless soldier was gone, off to fight another battle, and Glimmer was alone in a secluded part of the palace. Soon, people would come, to see where the blood led. To see whether she was dead or alive.

Every step took the effort of a thousand. She knew she couldn’t teleport, couldn’t hold herself together long enough to gather the energy. She was just moving, trying to get to somewhere she knew, someone who could help her.

Survival. That should’ve been the only thought on Glimmer’s mind, except there was Adora in the back of Glimmer’s mind. Always present, always fighting for attention.

Because Glimmer knew if she lived through this, Adora wouldn’t love her anymore.

Glimmer’s toe caught on something she couldn’t see, sending her flying forward, through a window until she was freewheeling in the open air, feeling the cool rush against her skin. She opened her mouth to scream, and then…

Nothing.

* * *

“What she has here is a hypertrophic scar, caused by a deep laceration. We can treat it in a number of ways, but the most important thing to remember is that once the wound closes and we remove the stitches, the scar will no longer be actively harming her. If the princess chooses to remove it, it’s a purely cosmetic decision, one that we at Mystacor are happy to help with.”

Adora gripped the footboard of the bed so tightly her knuckles went white. “When will she wake up?”

“Likely within the next few days. Her body needs to heal, and to wake her now would be detrimental to her health.”

Adora fought back the urge to yell at the doctor. A young man, not much older than her, who looked like he needed some sleep. He was just trying to do his job. It wasn't his fault that Glimmer was…

Glimmer was alive. That was the most important thing.

“Is there anything else we can do to help her?”

The doctor shrugged, and suddenly he seemed so young. “Wait.”

Everyone grew up faster during war.

Adora was tired of waiting.

But she didn’t have a choice. So she sat by the bed, and she took Glimmer’s hand, and she waited.

* * *

When Glimmer woke up, she was alone. A small room with white walls, and flowers in a vase on the bedside table. A plastic chair next to her. And a red jacket, thrown carelessly over the foot of the bed.

Adora.

Glimmer tried to sit up, but found her head throbbed. Her entire face felt painful, felt different, felt-

She raised her hand and ran her fingers of a thick ridge of scar tissue, running from the corner of her right eye down to the center of her chin.

The soldier could’ve killed her. They could’ve reached over and slit her throat. But instead-

Glimmer let her hand drop and closed her eyes.

She didn’t think she was ready to wake up, just yet.

Two sets of footsteps, walking closer to her room. Glimmer tried to arrange herself the way she’d been before, and then, suddenly, two people, standing by her bed. Their soft, steady breathing filled the room.

“Do we know when she’s going to wake up?” Bow’s voice. He sounded so worried, she half wanted to sit up and throw her arms around him.

“I don’t know.” Adora. Glimmer fought to keep her face impassive and relaxed, but the sound of her girlfriend’s voice was rough on her ears. Adora sounded teary, almost, which didn’t make sense because she never cried, not over Glimmer. “They’ve healed the… the wound. Now we just have to wait.”

A pause. The only sound the tapping of Adora’s fingers on the back of the chair, and the two friends’ breathing, steady to Glimmer’s unsteady.

“I miss her,” Bow whispered.

“Me too. It feels… darker, without her. Like she stole all the light.” Adora laughed a little, continuing to tap on the back of the chair, her worry palpable in every word.

Glimmer fought the urge to turn on her side and burrow deeper into the covers, let the warmth envelop her, cloak her, hide her.

A single pair of footsteps leaving the room. Glimmer could still hear the steady tap-tap-tap of Adora’s fingers, keeping time to the beat of her racing heart.

“Please wake up,” Adora said. “I don’t know if you can hear me, or anything, but… I miss you, and I love you. I want you to be okay, more than anything. I have so much to tell you.”

Adora didn’t share her feelings often, but when she did, she always made Glimmer feel lovesick, spinning, untethered. And then she’d reach out, and there was Adora. Her friend, her anchor, her love.

Adora reached over and took Glimmer’s hand, and, shocked by the human touch, Glimmer’s fingers twitched.

“Glimmer?” Adora breathed. “Are you… are you awake?”

Slowly, Glimmer opened her eyes, wincing at the bright lights.

“Oh my god.” Adora clapped her hands over her mouth, and Glimmer felt tears form in her eyes. The second Adora looked at her, she wanted to look away. Then Adora said, “I was so worried. Oh god, Glimmer, I was so worried. But you’re here…” She reached out and cupped Glimmer’s face in her hand, her fingers warm against Glimmer’s unmarred skin.

And yet Glimmer could feel the scar, throbbing on the other side of her face.

She flinched away from Adora’s touch, and Adora’s face fell. She pulled her hand back and stared at Glimmer until the scrutiny became too much, and Glimmer pulled the covers up over her face.

“You can go,” Glimmer mumbled. “You don’t have to look at me.”

“You don’t want to see your mom or Bow or anyone?” Adora asked, her eyes soft and sympathetic.

Glimmer shook her head.

“Okay,” Adora said, gathering her things and standing to leave. She paused in the doorway, glancing over her shoulder at Glimmer. “I don’t look at you because I have to, I look at you because I want to.”

* * *

Over the next few days, Glimmer began to piece together what had happened. The war was over. Hordak and Shadow Weaver were dead, and Scorpia and Perfuma were working together to rehabilitate Horde territory and return it to its natural state. Entrapta was working to make safer communities for villages that had been hurt in warfare. Last Bow had heard, she was setting up an irrigation system for the people of Plumeria.

No one knew anything about Catra.

A steady stream of visitors came to see Glimmer. Angella was adamant that Glimmer remain in bed for at least another week in order to fully heal, so people came to her. Bow visited the most, bringing homemade muffins and books from his family’s library. They talked about the war, and peace treaties, and the refugees staying at Bright Moon. They talked about Catra, and Glimmer’s mom, and Bow’s dads. They talked about anything and everything, just like they always had.

Except for Glimmer’s scar.

Adora didn’t visit. Glimmer knew she had told Bow to tell Adora to give her space, but… Glimmer didn’t think Adora would actually listen.

She missed her.

She missed Adora’s smile, and her laugh, and that jacket she always wore. She missed the conversations they’d had. She even missed the stupid tapping, in the way you miss the warmth of a blanket or the tingle of touch.

She knew she’d be missing Adora for a lot longer, because Adora wouldn’t want to see her anymore. Not like this.

Glimmer could pretend with Bow, with her mother, with any doctor who stopped by to poke at her scar tissue and ask invasive questions. But with Adora, the truth always came out. And this wasn’t something she could cover up.

So she stayed in her room, and she hid. Just like-

Just like she’d said she wanted.

* * *

Adora slipped her shoes off and set them outside the door. She didn’t want her loud footsteps to wake Glimmer; the princess needed her rest.

Adora tiptoed into the room and sat on the floor next to Glimmer’s bed, pushing herself up with one hand.

She looked so peaceful, sleeping. She didn’t look like someone who would get mad at her girlfriend and push her away without explaining anything. She just looked like a girl.

Adora knew she didn’t always understand things. Not everything had been explained to her like it had been for Glimmer and Bow, and there were big gaps in her knowledge. But she was trying to understand. And she wanted to help.

So she started to talk.

“I know you’re sleeping, and you can’t hear me,” Adora whispered. “But I need to say some things to you, whether you hear me or not. I hope that’s okay.”

She fell silent for a second, collecting her thoughts.

“I feel like you think I don’t like you anymore, because of your scar,” she said slowly. “Bow told me you’ve been avoiding talking about it, but you can’t avoid it any longer.”

Adora reached over and took one of Glimmer’s hands, folding her own around it.

“I like you for a lot of reasons. And that didn’t change because you have a scar. Your scar shows how strong and brave you are, and how hard you’re willing to fight for the things you believe in. And I love you.” She let out a deep breath. “I don’t say that enough, but I do. Nothing has changed, except now, we’re safe. And I still want to be with you, if you want to be with me.”

Glimmer sat up and threw her arms around a startled Adora, tears flowing freely from her eyes.

“Oh god… I’m sorry, I’m getting snot all over your jacket…” Glimmer pulled away, swiping at her tears with her free hand, Adora still holding on to the other one.

They stared at each other for a long beat.

“You meant it?” Glimmer asked. “Everything you said, you meant it?”

Adora reached up and cupped the scarred side of Glimmer’s face in her hand. She slowly traced the scar, from the corner of Glimmer’s right eye to the center of her chin. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there to protect you. I should’ve been there to stop this.”

Glimmer shook her head. “It wasn't your fault. I should’ve let you help me instead of pushing you away.”

“I guess we both should’ve done a lot of things.” 

Glimmer pulled her hand out of Adora’s to brush a lock of hair behind the other girl’s hair. Her usually neat ponytail was messy, and she looked red-faced and flustered.

“So did you mean it?” Glimmer asked again. Her heart felt like it was pounding out of her chest.

“Every word,” Adora said, flushing pink all over.

And when Adora pulled her in for a kiss, this time Glimmer believed her.

 

**Author's Note:**

> if you enjoyed, please drop a comment or come say hi to me on [tumblr](https://catralovesgirls.tumblr.com)!!! i love getting to hear from you guys 💖💖💖


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